Before becoming a writer, she worked as a CPA for the former BellSouth Mobility. After maxing out seven credit cards and getting into credit card debt, she decided to leave her cubicle to become a financial journalist and help others avoid the mistakes she had made. Through her books and media appearances, she's become well-known in the credit industry as a consumer advocate.
Traditional debt consolidation companies review your debts, income and credit score. If you qualify for a debt consolidation loan, they will discuss terms with you which will include the repayment period, the interest rate and the monthly payment. After you are issued a check, you will pay off all of your individual credit cards and owe one monthly payment to the credit consolidation company. One of the downsides of working with a traditional debt consolidator is that your credit card accounts are open and available for use. You may be tempted to continue using your cards and could wind up doubling your debt. Consider the following tips if you decide to work with a traditional debt consolidation company and take out a brand new loan:
The testimonials and results provided, although exciting, are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not typical, your results will vary. We promise only to perform the work agreed to in the terms and conditions of our retainer agreement with you, the client, and to charge each month only for work already completely performed. As with any legal services, no specific outcome is promised or guaranteed. The services of YourCreditAttorney.com, backed by Centurion Law Firm may not be available in all states. No guarantee of, nor representation that YOUR credit score will increase is made by these illustrative past results, your credit can only be improved in accordance with federal laws requiring the information on your credit report not be inaccurate, unverifiable nor misleading. YOUR RESULTS WILL VARY.
According to VantageScore report on how credit behaviors affect your credit score, those with a low credit score may see a credit score bump of 5 to 10 points every month you use responsible credit behavior such as making on-time payments. And, you may see larger jumps of 35 to 50 points or even more if your score was low because of high credit utilization and you make a large lump sum payment to one of your cards and keep the balance low.
Assuming you are consistently paying on time (the No. 1 thing you can do to help your credit), take a look at your debt-to-available credit ratio. You want to get that to under 30% (under 10% is even better). Your credit mix is also a factor. If you have the income to make more than minimum payments, though, that is the best way to make an impact. You can read more here:
If you're living with bad credit, this probably isn't the news you want to hear. The good news, however, is that there are several things you can do right now that will start to improve you credit score. Just keep in mind that there are no magic fixes in the credit world. Credit repair done right takes patience, persistence, and an understanding of how your credit score is calculated. Here are a few ways you can start repairing the damage to your credit score:
Shortly before graduate school started, I visited friends in Iowa. When we were about to split the bill after dinner at a Japanese restaurant, I noticed that all my friends had a Discover card with a shimmering pink or blue cover. The Discover it® Student Cash Back was known for its high approval rate for student applicants, and had been popular among international students.
I've racked up a good bit of credit card debt, and while I'm slowly paying it down, it's a pain wrangling multiple bills with different interest rates. My credit union is offering debt consolidation loans with a lower rate than any of my cards—should I take that, use it to pay off all of my cards, and only have one, low-interest bill to pay every month?
Account Information – Carefully check all accounts listed and make sure they are actually accounts that you have opened. If you find an account in your name that you did not open, contact the credit bureaus, explain the fraud and ask that a fraud alert be put on your account. Then contact the card-issuing company to find out more details about the account. The fact that it is on your report means it is likely that someone used your Social Security number in opening that account. Also be sure that the balance information and payment history for each account is accurate. If any information is inaccurate, you will need proof of the correct information and you will have to start a dispute with the credit bureau to ask for ratifications.
Of the major credit repair organizations, only Lexington Law has received an A rating from the Better Business Bureau. The Credit People and CreditRepair.com received high ratings from their consumers online, but are not rated by the Better Business Bureau. These companies don’t do anything you can’t do yourself, but they may be worth your money if you’ve got a lot of negative information to remove.
The best way to improve your score is to have good behavior reported every single month. For example, you can take out a secured credit card and use it monthly. Charge no more than 10% of the available credit limit, and pay the balance in full and on time every month. Your credit score will improve as your negative information ages and your credit report fills with positive information.
A debt consolidation loan streamlines existing debts into one new loan. Most unsecured consumer debt can be consolidated, including credit cards, medical bills, utility bills, payday loans, student loans, taxes and bills sent to a collection agency. Having one monthly payment instead of several can make it easier to get your finances in order and could allow you to save money on interest fees. When shopping around, it’s essential to find a loan with a lower interest rate and better terms than the original debts.
If so, you've come to the right place. We know how challenging it is to resolve today's credit issues, therefore our goal is to ensure satisfaction of every client by being superior in the field of credit repair. Easy Solutions has a proven track record, with a strong portfolio of satisfied clients, and was voted Best Credit Repair Services in Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. Become our next success story. Sign up today!
Unlike other types of credit, even people with deep subprime credit scores usually qualify to open a secured credit card. However, credit card use among people with poor credit scores is still near an all-time low. In the last decade, credit card use among deep subprime borrowers fell 16.7%. Today, just over 50% of deep subprime borrowers have credit card accounts.30
I would like to say Thank you for the outstanding service that you gave me. I started the program just four short years ago and in March I will be debt free. With your help in setting better plans with my creditors I was able to accomplish this. It was hard work, but it was all worth it at the end. The Consolidated credit counselors are the best; they answered all of my question(s) and helped me every step of the way.
Sometimes in life, you can take your sweet time, like when you’re taking a Sunday drive, getting to know someone before getting married, or putting together Ikea furniture. However, there are plenty of other instances where time is of the essence. Shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve? You’ll probably want to get in and get out. Have a big project at work and the boss is flying in tomorrow? It behooves you to have it done if you want that raise.
Be punished for missed payments: Not all late payments are created equally. If you are fewer than 30 days late, your missed payment will likely not be reported to the bureau (although you still will be subject to late fees and potential risk-based re-pricing, which can be very expensive). Once you are 30 days late, you will be reported to the credit bureau. The longer you go without paying, the bigger the impact on your score, ie: 60 days late is worse than 30 days late. A single missed payment (of 30 days or more) can still have a big impact on your score. It can take anywhere from 60 to 110 points off your score.
Once you’ve confirmed the accuracy of your credit reports, you can begin working on the mistakes that you’re responsible for. One easy way to pinpoint your credit-score weaknesses is to sign up for a free WalletHub account. Your Credit Analysis will include a grade for each component of your latest credit score as well as personalized advice for how to improve problem areas.
The cause of your debt may be due to overspending, and that’s where creating a budget can help. You can view a snapshot of your expenses and see where you’re able to cut costs and hopefully save money to pay off debts you may have. There are plenty of budgeting apps that are free and allow you to link various accounts to get a holistic view of your finances.
The deal is you get the prime rate for 3 years with no intro balance transfer fee. That’s currently 4.75% variable, though your rate will change if the prime rate changes, either up or down, and you have 60 days to complete your transfer with no fee. After that, it’s $10 or 3% of the amount of the transfer, whichever is greater. Also beware the prime rate deal isn’t for new purchases, so only use this card for a balance transfer.
You cannot use your existing credit cards while you’re on a debt management plan, nor can you open new accounts. McClary also said that if you do manage to open new credit card accounts during your debt management plan, existing creditors who find out may stop participating in your debt management plan and reset your account to its original terms and interest rate.

Additionally, the security deposit you used to obtain the card is used if you were to default on your payment. However, this is not the case if the balance in which you have defaulted happens to be higher than the security deposit amount. Using the security deposit means that even if you default, the card will be paid because it is secured by your funds and you will not have the account end up in collections due to nonpayment.